Board Members

Carolyn R. Hughes, Chairman

Board Chairman Carolyn Hughes helps the Foellinger Foundation chart its course by contributing strategic thinking and financial oversight. She joined the board at a time when it was undergoing a Strategic Planning process to provide direction for grantmaking for generations to come. A part of that process is to assure that the Foundation adheres to the intent of the founders. Carolyn provides vital insights, informed by her experience as an executive at Fort Wayne Newspapers, immersed in the culture that Helene Foellinger had influenced as publisher of The News-Sentinel. “A lot of the emphasis on evaluation and measurement gets back to Helene’s core values,” Carolyn said. “She was known for prudent decisions.”

In addition to a strategic outlook, Carolyn brings a keen financial acumen to the boardroom. Trained as an accountant (and as a chemist), she had been CFO of Fort Wayne Newspapers before becoming the company's vice president of sales and marketing until her retirement.

Her tenure with the board coincides with an ever-growing emphasis on helping grantees establish outcomes and evaluate them in a meaningful way. “We’re looking for value, not just numbers. We seek to answer the fundamental questions: ‘Is it sustainable? Is it transferable? What difference will it make?’” she said. “We’re willing to take some prudent risks and evaluate the results. And we try to share the lessons learned with the nonprofit community.”

Focusing on outcomes and measurements in grantmaking provides the data needed for the Foundation to measure itself. “That’s the only way we can assess whether we’re having an impact.”

Carolyn combines her financial and strategic skills with an extraordinary sense of empathy for people in need. She takes great pride in her role in the Foundation's focus on building upon people's strengths and focusing on children and families with programs designed to help them move from dependence to greater self-reliance.

Mary F. Barksdale, Vice Chairman and Secretary

"I believe we need to practice what we preach," says Foellinger Foundation Vice Chairman and Secretary Mary Barksdale.

The Foundation puts a lot of emphasis on board development in its grantmaking and in workshops that it offers to grantees. "So as a Foundation we need to implement the Best Practices that we encourage among grantees," Mrs. Barksdale says.

Mrs. Barksdale has been a community volunteer and trustee for more than a quarter century, with experience on the boards of very large institutions including hospitals and public schools. She served on a key community committee focused on civic responsibility with Foundation co-founder Helene Foellinger. A retired human resources executive with a large international manufacturing company, Mrs. Barksdale joined the Foellinger Foundation Board in 1997 after serving on one of its committees.

"At the time, the Foundation was seeking a person with human resources experience to support both its board and staff development goals," Mrs. Barksdale says. Today she serves on the Board Development Committee. Her contributions to board governance include:

• Developing position descriptions for officers, committee chairmen, board members and the CEO.
• Surveying the board's strengths and weaknesses.
• Creating a formal board orientation program.
• Updating and revising a conflict-of-interest statement.
• Implementing a board affirmation statement to enlist clear commitments from current and prospective board members.
• Conducted research for the “Best Practices” of successful boards.
• Developed Board Member Profile.
• Developed policy for term limits of board members.

"Collectively, I'm happy with the results; steps like these have added structure to make the board more process oriented."
Mrs. Barksdale says her time working with Helene Foellinger on a civic committee keeps her grounded in the wishes of the Foundation's co-founder. Her leadership helps the Foundation maintain its focus on the donors' principles and values of stewardship.

David A. Bobilya, Treasurer

Like many nonprofit board leaders, David A. Bobilya learned his skills "on the job" with a local nonprofit agency. A lot of board members don't know what they're getting into, and he admits that at first he was unsure of his role, too. He observed his peers and followed the lead of more senior members. "Fortunately in my case it was an extremely well-run organization. They had the 'right stuff.'"

The "right stuff" is different from the "good stuff," which you can get only at Pizza Hut. In his "civilian" life Dave serves as Executive Vice President and CFO of Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne. The company operates 45 Pizza Huts and three KFC restaurants.

 Today, Dave puts his personal nonprofit board experience to work on behalf of the entire community as a member of the Foellinger Foundation board. He joined the Foundation's Investment and Finance Committee four years ago, and in 2005 became a member of the board of directors. He is now Treasurer of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Investment and Finance Committee — both posts previously held by Carl D. Rolfsen, who retired at the end of 2005. "I feel fortunate to have worked closely with Carl, who shared the benefit of his 25 years of experience with the Foundation," Dave says.

Dave attended a workshop where it was observed that the most effective organizations are those with highly active boards. "I thought to myself, 'no kidding.'" And yet many boards fail to achieve their full potential. Dave said he is proud of the Foundation's efforts to be a part of the remedy to that problem.

"The Foundation helps boards become stronger and more effective and accountable," Dave said. He said one of the Foundation's challenges is to be accountable to Helene and Esther Foellinger by encouraging accountability among grantees, without becoming rigid or bureaucratic. "Some folks feel that the Foundation is a tough place to go for a grant because of our emphasis on measuring and reporting results. Our board and staff take their concerns to heart, and we're always working to find the right balance," Dave said.

The balance, he explained, is to meet today's need but also preserve the Foundation's resources so it can continue to meet needs well into the future. The outcome evaluations, progress reports and other tools are just that, Dave says — tools to meet a bigger objective. "At the end of the day, our job is to use the Foundation's assets to make life better for children and families in Allen County."

Cheryl K. Taylor, President and CEO

About once a year, Foellinger Foundation President Cheryl Taylor spends some time poking around in the foundation's archives of Helene Foellinger's letters, pictures, business documents, newspaper clippings and the memorabilia that marked the milestones in Helene's life. Helene Foellinger created the Foundation along with her mother, Esther.

"Helene was an extraordinary woman, and every time I look at the archive, it renews my sense of purpose," said Taylor. "For the people making decisions on her behalf, it's a great asset to have this collection. It gives us a real sense of the people whose gift we administer."

Today, Taylor is President of the Foundation and a member of its board of directors. "My role is to provide leadership to the board," Taylor said, "helping to focus on governance responsibilities. For the rest of the board to focus on the big picture, someone needs to give them the big picture, and that's part of my role."

Taylor serves on the Executive Committee and on the Investment and Finance Committee. She also provides staff support for the Board Development Committee.

Like any executive, many of her days are filled with meetings, paperwork, strategy development, and administration. From time to time, though, she is able to witness firsthand the effects of Foellinger Foundation support on the lives of local residents. Those are the moments she'll remember forever, she says.

"The Foundation realizes that we as an organization don't directly do anything to make lives better; what we do is support the nonprofits that make these good things happen. We seek to strengthen those nonprofit agencies that can make a difference in people's lives."

Taylor said that she and other Board members are thankful for a staff that consists of "good thinkers with a creative understanding of the mission and of our founders' intentions."

Taylor has been with the Foundation since 1990, beginning as Program Officer and advancing to Senior Program Officer. In 2000, she was instrumental in the Foundation's development of a comprehensive Strategic Plan. She became President in 2001 and joined the Board in 2002.

"Helene and Esther gave Allen County an extraordinary gift. They placed complete trust in the Foundation’s current and future Boards to oversee that gift," Taylor said. "I think about that every day, and when I see the great things local nonprofits are doing with the funds I know that this is what the Foellingers envisioned."

Joyce A. Dulworth, CPA

Joyce Dulworth, CPA, joined the Foellinger Foundation Board of Directors in 2009 because the Foundation’s strategic goals closely coincide with her own civic interests. “I was attracted to the Foundation’s emphasis on children and families – I think our children, locally and nationwide, need every advantage we can give them to reach their potential,” said Dulworth, a tax partner with BKD, LLP who works extensively with the firm’s nonprofit clients. Before joining the Board, she served – and continues to serve – on the Audit Committee, which provides oversight of the annual audit of the Foundation’s financial statements and tax return. “The Audit Committee selects the independent audit firm to assure that the Foundation lives up to its own standard of accountability,” Dulworth said.

Dulworth has been working in public accounting since 1983. A native Hoosier, she and her husband moved to Fort Wayne in 1985, so she has deep roots in the Allen County community. When the youngest of her three sons recently went off to Indiana University in Bloomington, she wanted to apply herself to a community role where she could really make a difference, and the Foellinger Foundation turned out to be a great match.

Her own service as a nonprofit board leader helps her now in her role with the Foundation. “I appreciate the Foundation’s philosophy of backing organizations that have demonstrated good leadership traits and thus have been able to attract qualified board members,” she said. “It makes sense to support organizations that have already proven themselves to be effective with Foundation grant dollars.”

Since joining the Foellinger Foundation Board, she has provided a unique perspective based on her own experiences serving nonprofits. “Sound financial management requires strategic planning to set priorities and goals, budgets for fiscal discipline and   financial statements and reports that demonstrate accountability,” she said. Because of her financial and tax expertise, she is a frequent speaker for seminar programs and has been a contributing author to BKD publications. She is a member of the Fort Wayne Estate Planning Council, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Indiana CPA Society.

With such a full plate, Dulworth still finds time for walks with her black Labrador, Ally, and one of her favorite pastimes, reading biographies. Why biographies? “Because from each book I learn about events that influenced their lives and their leadership styles. I get a new appreciation for the extraordinary amount of work that it takes to accomplish their goals” Dulworth said.

Judge Thomas J. Felts

Judge Thomas Felts, a lifelong Allen County resident, is a familiar face to hundreds of local residents. Felts has devoted his life to making our community a better place to live. A graduate of Central Catholic High School, The University of Notre Dame and Indiana University School of Law, his Hoosier credentials run deep.

He is Chairman of the Foundation's Board Development Committee and serves on the Audit Committee. The board development team is in charge of recruiting, orienting and retaining a cohesive, effective board that continues to grow in new directions. The audit team reviews the annual audit conducted by outside CPAs. "We want to see if there are any areas identified for improvement," he said.

In the courtroom, Felts is guided by the law. In the Foellinger Boardroom, the board is driven to adhere to the intentions of the Foundation's donors, Helene and Esther Foellinger.

During a lengthy Strategic Planning process a few years ago — a time that Felts refers to as "a period of introspection" for the Foundation — the board documented the intentions of the founders to guide the current board and generations of board members to come.

"A legal professional can appreciate this guidance regarding donor intent, because when decisions come up, we can determine whether our actions match up with donor intent or not," he said.

"In the courtroom we have the standard of law; in the Foellinger Boardroom we have the additional standard of donor intent. We can ask, 'Is this consistent with the intentions and expectations of Helene and Esther Foellinger, as documented in the Strategic Plan?' It's very useful."

Felts is active outside the courtroom and the boardroom, too. He is immediate past president of the Indiana Judges Association and an avid runner and marathoner. He runs 25 to 45 miles a week. After he catches his breath, he also enjoys singing as a liturgist and cantor in local churches. With his musical partners, he has recorded CDs of contemporary Christian and Catholic music.

Richard B. Pierce

Richard Pierce loves woodworking — making furniture and doll houses. He loves to see things take shape through painstaking planning and hands-on attention to detail.

Those are the same qualities he brings to the Foellinger Foundation boardroom, where he has been a board member since 2001. He joined the board after first serving on a committee tasked with studying Allen County's neighborhood issues. Pierce has a long history of community involvement, as a former neighborhood association president, a board member of nonprofits, and a former member of the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Plan Commission. He's also active in his church and teaches business and general education at Ivy Tech. That's all in addition to his "day job" as a counselor.

Pierce is on the Foundation's Board Development Committee and is Chairman of the Community Interests Grant Review Advisory Committee. The committee is made up of volunteers with diverse interests in improving life in Allen County. Pierce marvels at the community spirit exhibited by committee members. "Not one person that was asked to be on the committee said no," he said.

It's clear that Pierce takes great pride in his role in shaping the grantmaking activity of the Foundation as a board member. He's also proud of his two sons and five grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoys making furniture and other woodworking projects. The day he was interviewed for this article, he said he'd been working on a doll house.

"It's wonderful to start with nothing and see something beautiful develop as the result of your efforts."

Robert N. Taylor

“How may I help you?” is a phrase Bob Taylor grew up hearing and saying quite often, but the quality service aspect behind it has almost become a motto for Taylor’s life. In 1927 Taylor’s family founded Fuel Feed & Building Supplies, currently known as Taylor’s Do it Center. He began working at the store when he was only 14 years old serving hot dogs and sodas and continued with the company for over 26 years. He became president of the business in 1990 and added a third generation to the Taylor’s Do it legacy.

In line with his quality service mindset, Taylor took great care in exploring options for Taylor’s Do it to expand and decided to align the business with Do it Best Corporation, a cooperative that is member-owned by 4,100 independent stores in all 50 states and 45 countries. Currently, he serves as president and CEO of Do it Best Corporation in Fort Wayne. Little did he know that “How may I help you?” and hot dogs would turn him into a CEO some day.

 Taylor’s focus on quality service doesn’t just apply to the business world. Taylor uses his time and talents in the community as well and serves on multiple boards in diverse organizations. He currently serves on the Foundation’s Investment and Finance Committee and is Chairman of the Audit Committee.

That “How may I help you?” attitude runs deep within Taylor, and his fellow board members know they can rely on him to be there with a ready smile and sound business counsel.